Best Savings Account (House Deposit)

Alex92_2

innovate wrote: »

Standing orders are no use for that Vantage offer. If you pay your credit card by DD, it would of course count.

However - - - if you pay big bills from your Vantage account(s), this could defeat the object. Because as soon as your balance drops below £5K, you will not get the 4% any longer.

Some tiny DDs (e.g. for £1) are ideal for making the best out of the Vantage offer.


They have a Regular Saver with 4% but as with the FD, you cannot dump £20K into it. Apart from the Vantage won't find any instant access account that pays 4% these days.

The credit card outcomings are only for petrol and paid bang on time. It's basically like a direct debit card, as it would be coming out that account anyway, just 1 month later.

Seems that the best option for me is just to stick with the lloyds tsb accounts and put up with lousy interest rates for the mean time, or to find something else to invest in.

innovate

Alex92 wrote: »

I havent got an ISA set up, purely because the rate was so low. (2%). Even with tax deducted, 4% from the classic vantage accounts gives better interest than that, AND pays monthly.

Were were you looking? There are still 3% instant access ISAs about. Or you can get 3.25% in a 60-day notice account. In March/April, ISA rates have traditionally been a bit better - e.g. Nationwide had a 4.25% instant access ISA last April.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/401374

Alex92 wrote: »

My only real out comings each month is;
Rent: £200
Petrol: £120
Gym Membership: £35

And I may spend £100 on myself for various bits and bobs, like coffee if im out or little bits like that.

Do you not eat? Buy some clothes and shoes? Go on holidays?

Alex92 wrote: »

.....Which isnt fantastic by any means.

True, but nobody can get anything better for instant access anywhere else these days.

Alex92 wrote: »

..... the rates are so appauling for holding my money for 1 year that for the sake of £50 or so, is it even worth it?

If you found a £50 note in the street, would you not pick it up?

innovate

Alex92 wrote: »

The credit card outcomings are only for petrol and paid bang on time. It's basically like a direct debit card, as it would be coming out that account anyway, just 1 month later.

Do you get cashback on your credit card?

With the Santander 123 credit card, you'd get £43 cashback for your monthly £120 petrol. Minus £24 fee (waved for 1st year though), makes net £43 for you in the first year, and then £19 from year 2 (assuming they keep the same level of cashback).

http://santander123.co.uk/

EDIT: Plus £15 cashback from Quidco http://www.quidco.com/santander-123-credit-card/?ac

Alex92_2

innovate wrote: »

Do you not eat? Buy some clothes and shoes? Go on holidays?


lol, I live at home and food is free (comes under rent), already got enough pairs of shoes and clothes I dont really have particularly expensive taste and shop in sales, so will spend maybe £100 every few months. Have about 3 or 4 holidays a year, but my monthly summary as above was purely my typical month. I tend not to buy holidays each month.

True, but nobody can get anything better for instant access anywhere else these days.




If you found a £50 note in the street, would you not pick it up?
True, but it's not as black and white as that. It's not a case of just getting £50 for free. It's changing who i've been banking with for the last 3 years and getting used to a whole new online system and remembering new passwords and getting new cards. + I previously banked with santander and thought they were awful and swore never to go back with them.

If you asked me "Would I pick up 13p every single day for a year" I would say no anyway lol.

innovate wrote: »

Do you get cashback on your credit card?

With the Santander 123 credit card, you'd get £43 cashback for your monthly £120 petrol. Minus £24 fee (waved for 1st year though), makes net £43 for you in the first year, and then £19 from year 2 (assuming they keep the same level of cashback).

EDIT: Plus £15 cashback from Quidco

Could be worth looking into this one!

psychic_teabag

calypso_rhapsody wrote: »

But it seems that the special offer applies to new accounts only and the OP already has vantage accounts?

No, existing customers can upgrade. I did it by phone, but you can also do it in branch.

ScotlandM

Hi Alex, Why do you need instant access to your 20k?
Seems quite a large amount to need access to

If you don't have a need for all of it you should deposit xK in an ISA next March/April when rates are traditionally better.
You could quite happily put 5k in a 3year fixed ISA, have a couple of regular savings accounts and the rest in an instant access savings account
Then March/April 2014 you put another 5k into a different 3 year fix your regular savers mature, restart them and put the lump sum into the ISA. Then March/April 2015 a third 5k into a 3 year fix (from matured regular savers + top up) . Then from March/April 2016 you'll have 5k maturing from the first ISA which you can plant in another 3 year fix isa.

Course i don't know what this 20k is for, house deposit? If it's a house deposit you must surely have a time in mind to buy? 3years? So get a 3 year fixed bond for 20k.

Instant access gives worse rates, always will. Best rates will be found by doing a bit of work or setting it up. You won't need to daily pick up that 13p, a monthly pick up of 4 pounds will do.

Alex92_2

ScotlandM wrote: »

Hi Alex, Why do you need instant access to your 20k?
Seems quite a large amount to need access to

If you don't have a need for all of it you should deposit xK in an ISA next March/April when rates are traditionally better.
You could quite happily put 5k in a 3year fixed ISA, have a couple of regular savings accounts and the rest in an instant access savings account
Then March/April 2014 you put another 5k into a different 3 year fix your regular savers mature, restart them and put the lump sum into the ISA. Then March/April 2015 a third 5k into a 3 year fix (from matured regular savers + top up) . Then from March/April 2016 you'll have 5k maturing from the first ISA which you can plant in another 3 year fix isa.

Course i don't know what this 20k is for, house deposit? If it's a house deposit you must surely have a time in mind to buy? 3years? So get a 3 year fixed bond for 20k.

Instant access gives worse rates, always will. Best rates will be found by doing a bit of work or setting it up. You won't need to daily pick up that 13p, a monthly pick up of 4 pounds will do.

Hello. I wanted instant access to money, becuase I dont know when i'll need it. I may need to give a loan to a family member, or run into some money that allows me to move out sooner than expected. Want to be able to take it out whenever I want without getting a penalty for it.

Forgive my ignorance, but when you say 3 Year fixed ISA. Does this mean I put 5k into an ISA, then the year after, put another 5k into the same ISA and the year after do that again. So i'd have 15k in ISA and getting interest on that?

I spoke to a financial advisor and he suggested because CashISA rates are so bad, that I should look into equity ISAs, as they can get 8% + per month, but then they have tons of management fees etc.

innovate

Alex92 wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance, but when you say 3 Year fixed ISA. Does this mean I put 5k into an ISA, then the year after, put another 5k into the same ISA and the year after do that again. So i'd have 15k in ISA and getting interest on that?

Literally all fixed term savings accounts (ISA or not) do not allow more than one deposit. Exception is the LLoyds 2-year fixed rate ISA, where you can add additional funds.

Alex92 wrote: »

I spoke to a financial advisor and he suggested because CashISA rates are so bad, that I should look into equity ISAs, as they can get 8% + per month, but then they have tons of management fees etc.

I hope this financial advisor also told you that your investment horizon for an S&S ISA should be at least 5 years. From all you said so far, you have a massively shorter expectation. Thus S&S ISAs really wouldn't be suitable for you.

psychic_teabag

Alex92 wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance, but when you say 3 Year fixed ISA. Does this mean I put 5k into an ISA, then the year after, put another 5k into the same ISA and the year after do that again. So i'd have 15k in ISA and getting interest on that?

No. You put £5k into a 3-year ISA and then just leave it for 3 years. Next year's subscription would have to go somewhere else. Could start a new 3-year account, or start a 2-year fix so they mature at the same time.

Most fixed-term accounts do not allow subsequent deposits. (I think I heard that Lloyds have one that allows a deposit each year.)

I spoke to a financial advisor and he suggested because CashISA rates are so bad, that I should look into equity ISAs, as they can get 8% + per month, but then they have tons of management fees etc.

You can put £5k into cash ISA and another £5k into S&S ISA. Or I think for a basic-rate tax payer there's not a huge benefit from holding equities in an ISA. Not until your gains start to reach you CGT allowance.

vicx

Just read this thread with interest (no pun intended haha) as my 3 year fixed rate ISA (tax free) has just matured and looking what to do now as the interest rates are not so good to lock more money away for another 3 year.

Just wondering, can you open a fixed rate (tax free) ISA each year as I thought you could only have the one? Also, lets say I put £5,640 away for 3 year, when it matures cant I add another £5,640 into the same tax free ISA?